White Hot Stamper

Elvis CostelloImperial Bedroom

With Triple Plus (A+++) sound or something close to it on both sides this is as good a copy as we have ever offered

Geoff Emerick engineered, creating a unique sound - a sound which only works if you have the right pressing

This dense, darkly serious album contains some of the best songs EC ever wrote - the last of his True Classics

Allmusic 5 Stars: "Essentially, the songs on Imperial Bedroom are an extension of Costello's jazz and pop infatuations on Trust. Costello's music is complex and intricate, yet it flows so smoothly, it's easy to miss the bitter, brutal lyrics."

White Hot Stamper

Elvis CostelloPunch The Clock

Triple Plus (A+++) sound from start to finish - this is far and away the best sounding copy to ever hit the site

Two Costello classics are found on side one: Everyday I Write the Book, and Shipbuilding, with a heartbreaking trumpet solo by none other than Chet Baker himself

The bass and the horn sound are the two key elements to getting the right sound on this record, and they're both As Good As It Gets here (hence the Triple Plus)

"Elvis Costello ... remains the most consistently interesting songwriter in rock & roll, and there is evidence that a new, more emotionally generous sensibility may soon be present in his work." Rolling Stone

Super Hot Stamper

Elvis CostelloImperial Bedroom

Open and present with great size and space, this pressing earned excellent sonic grades of Double Plus (A++) on both sides

Geoff Emerick engineered, creating a unique sound, a sound which only seems to work if you have the right pressing

This dense, darkly serious album contains some of the best songs EC ever wrote - the last of his True Classics

Allmusic 5 Stars: "Essentially, the songs on Imperial Bedroom are an extension of Costello's jazz and pop infatuations on Trust. Costello's music is complex and intricate, yet it flows so smoothly, it's easy to miss the bitter, brutal lyrics."

Super Hot Stamper

Elvis CostelloPunch The Clock

The bottom end here is as punchy, well-defined and powerful as they come - there's plenty of low-end on this record

The overall clarity and transparency is superb, allowing you to appreciate subtleties in the top end even when the bass and drums are really pounding

"Punch the Clock won't alter anyone's opinion of Elvis Costello because it doesn't represent much of a change for him. He remains the most consistently interesting songwriter in rock & roll, and there is evidence that a new, more emotionally generous sensibility may soon be present in his work." Rolling Stone

Hot Stamper

Elvis CostelloPunch The Clock

You'll find Hot Stamper sound on both sides of this Elvis Costello classic

The bottom end here is as punchy, well-defined and powerful as they come - there's plenty of low-end on this record

The overall clarity and transparency is superb, allowing you to appreciate subtleties in the top end even when the bass and drums are really pounding

"Punch the Clock won't alter anyone's opinion of Elvis Costello because it doesn't represent much of a change for him. He remains the most consistently interesting songwriter in rock & roll, and there is evidence that a new, more emotionally generous sensibility may soon be present in his work." Rolling Stone

(Item #: costello_domestic)Another in our ongoing series of Random Thoughts on issues concerning music and recordings.

Domestic Elvis Costello pressings don't usually do all that much for us. Boosted highs, poor bass definition and copious amounts of grit and grain -- '70s Columbia at their best, what else is new? The first album and Spike are the only Elvis records I know of that sound good on domestic vinyl. Forget the rest. If you love Elvis Costello as much as we do around here, we suggest you do yourself a favor and trash your domestic LPs -- you need a British or German copy to even get in the ballpark, and that's far from a guarantee of good sound. Elvis is "Still the King," but you would never know it without the right pressing -- like this one.

(Item #: costearmed_2009)This White Hot Stamper side one was HEAD AND SHOULDERS better than ANY side of ANY other copy we played. We are awarding it our very special "Four Plus" A++++ grade; the sound goes beyond anything we've heard before. It's also one of less than two dozen such records to ever hit the site.

At this point we've easily done more than a thousand Hot Stamper listings, so we are talking in the range of the top one or two percent for sound. Most audiophiles will go their whole lives without hearing a rock record sound this good, considering the tens of thousands of records we've had to buy, clean and play to find the handful of OFF THE CHARTS copies we've reviewed.

Some brilliant songs on this one: I Want You comes to mind, one of the best tracks Elvis ever laid down. This is not a pretty record -- it's lean, mean, rock and roll, if you're into that sort of thing (which I am of course).

AN AMAZING A+++ WHITE HOT SIDE TWO backed with a pretty darn good side one on this rip-roarin', twenty song, five star rated Elvis Costello extravaganza! We shot out well over a dozen Brit Import copies and this was one of a very small group that really rocked our world. Most copies were veiled, smeary, and thick but this one presents the music with the kind of energy these songs demand.more Info

Elvis Costello - Girls Girls Girls

Skip It on Vinyl (But Buy the CD Set)

(Item #: costegirls_1989)This is a Minty looking British Import Demon Records LP with Virtually No Sign of Play (VNSOP). This copy sounds decent -- better than you'd find on any domestic copy -- and the songs, spanning the period from 1976 to 1986, are GREAT!more Info

I’m embarrassed to say we used to like the Rhino Heavy Vinyl version, and in our defense let me tell you why: it was (for the most part) tonally correct, fairly low distortion, and had tight punchy bass.

Boy, was we wrong. Now it sounds positively CRUDE and UNPLEASANT next to the real thing -- if by "the real thing" you mean an honest to goodness Hot Stamper copy. The average copy of this record is aggressive and unpleasant. The British pressings are mud. You either have to work very hard to find a good one (which means buying, cleaning and playing lots and lots of them), or you have to luck into a good one by accident.

STUNNING! This insanely good pressing earned the rare FOUR PLUS (A++++) grade on side one -- it's OFF THE CHARTS! Side two is incredible as well, earning our standard top grade of Triple Plus (A+++) The sound is incredibly lively, punchy, and powerful; with all due respect, it should MURDER whatever copies you may have. Relatively quiet for this album, Mint Minus to Mint Minus Minus on both sides.

The British pressings are simply not competitive with the best domestics. No import, from any country, can touch a good Columbia pressing from the states. The most common stampers for the Columbia pressings have never sounded very good to these ears, but that doesn't mean there aren't some killer copies with different stampers sitting in the bins wearing the generic '70s Red Columbia label. We've heard them. Wish we could find more of them but they are rare and only getting rarer.

The bottom end is as punchy, well-defined and powerful as they come. There's plenty of low-end on this record; regrettably most copies suffer from either a lack of bass or a lack of bass definition. I can't tell you how much you're missing when the bass isn't right on this album. (Or if you have the typical bass-shy audiophile speaker, yuck.) When the bass is lacking or ill-defined, the music seems labored; the moment-to-moment rhythmic changes in the songs blur together, and the band just doesn't swing the way it's supposed to.

White Hot Stampers for Elvis Costello’s Last Really Good Album and no, they’re not British -- the British ones were a joke. Spike was mixed right here in the good old US of A at Ocean Way (and elsewhere) with plenty of that big bold sound they know how to get at that studio. Drop the needle on the first track and you will hear exactly what I mean.

This White Hot Stamper showed us a Spike we never knew existed -- so much energy and presence to the sound, it came jumping out of the speakers and simply refused to mind its manners. Elvis should be proud. Why don’t more records sound like this?

PUMP IT UP! This British Import Radar LP has TWO AMAZING SIDES that really convey the energy of this hard rockin’ music. The overall sound is punchy, lively, and dynamic with lots of tight punchy bass. The vocals on both sides are Right On The Money. We don't find copies like this very often -- Hot Stamper pressings are TOUGH to come by.

(Item #: costetrust_1981)
With the right full-range big speaker system, one that can really move air from the midrange down, either side of Trust may end up becoming one of your favorite DEMO DISCS. The overall clarity and transparency of the best British pressings are superb, allowing you to appreciate subtleties in the top end even when the bass and drums are really POUNDING. Play Whisper to a Scream on side two for some of the best pounding on the album. If that song doesn't get your blood pumping, you need a bypass to unblock a few arteries, stat.

(Item #: costearmed_best)
We consider Armed Forces to be one of the best sounding rock records ever made, and a top copy is proof enough to back up our claim. The best copies are extremely transparent and silky sounding, but with unbelievably punchy, rock solid bass and drums.

The sound of the rhythm section of this album ranks up there with the very best ever recorded. Beyond that, the musical chops of this band at this time rank with the very best in the history of rock. Steve, Bruce and Pete rarely get the credit they deserve for being one of the tightest, liveliest backing bands ever to walk into a studio or on to a stage.

(Item #: costemyaim_volume)Another in the long list of recordings that really comes alive when you Turn Up Your Volume.

There is a line in the Hot Stamper commentary below concerning driving punk rock bass. Man, this record lives or dies by your ability to reproduce the powerful bottom end that propels this music. Pardon me for cueing up a broken record again, and with all due respect to the things they do well -- they must do something well, right? People keep buying them -- small speakers and screens are not going to cut it on My Aim Is True. This is precisely the kind of album they don’t do well.

(Item #: costetrust_listen)There’s a TON of low-end on this record; regrettably, most copies suffer from either a lack of bass or a lack of bass definition. I can’t tell you how much you’re missing when the bass isn’t right on this album. (Or if you have the typical bass-shy audiophile speaker, yuck.)

It’s without a doubt THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT of the sound on this album. When the bass is right, everything falls into place, and the music comes powerfully to life. When the bass is lacking or ill-defined, the music seems labored; the moment-to-moment rhythmic changes in the songs blur together, and the band just doesn’t swing the way it’s supposed to.